HTC Introduces 'Viveport M' VR Content Store for Android

Viveport M is compatible with most Android phones, offering content for both touchscreen and VR modes.

Looking for some good virtual reality apps to check out on your Android phone? HTC wants to help you find them.

The company's Viveport M is a new storefront designed to help mobile users find and use VR apps and 360-degree videos. Viveport M is compatible with most Android phones, offering content for touch-screen and VR modes.

But most people will have to hold tight before they can check it out, because it's not quite ready for primetime. HTC has thus far released a developer beta version of Viveport M for registered Vive devs. The company expects to release the consumer version later this year.

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HTC this week also introduced Viveport Arcade, which it describes as "a content management and sales platform customized for offline experience centers." Viveport Arcade will serve as the offline counterpart to the PC version of Viveport (pictured) making it easier for arcade operators to legally acquire new VR content, and helping VR content devs reach users who don't personally own a Vive.

HTC is already testing Viveport Arcade at a number of locations, and said the tool will soon expand to "hundreds of gaming centers, amusement parks, and karaoke bars across China and globally."

"Compelling content is the life blood of the burgeoning VR industry, but making great content isn't easy or cheap," HTC's China Regional President of Vive Alvin W. Graylin said in a statement. "By expanding Viveport into mobile and offline channels, we are exponentially expanding the user base and revenue opportunities for VR developers around the world. This will give them the funds they need to not only survive but prosper, encouraging the creation of more exciting content."

Angela has been a PCMag reporter since January 2012. Prior to joining the team, she worked as a reporter for SC Magazine, covering everything related to hackers and computer security. Angela has also written for The Northern Valley Suburbanite in New Jersey, The Dominion Post in West Virginia, and the Uniontown-Herald Standard in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of West Virginia University's Perely Isaac Reed School of Journalism.
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